1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to heat sink clips, and more specifically to a heat sink clip for securing a heat sink to a heat generating electronic component to remove heat from the electronic component.
2. Description of Related Art
With the continuing development of computer technology, electronic components such as central processing units (CPUs) of computers are being made to operate at higher operational speeds and to have greater functional capabilities. When a CPU operates at high speed in a computer enclosure, its temperature increases rapidly. To avoid damage to the CPU, heat generated by the CPU must be dissipated quickly, which can be done by, for example, using a heat sink attached to a surface of the CPU to absorb the heat from the CPU. The heat absorbed by the heat sink is then dissipated to ambient air.
To secure the heat sink to the heat generating electronic component, a heat sink clip is required. A currently available heat sink clip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,940. The clip includes an elongated pin and a coil spring, wherein the spring is disposed around the pin. The pin passes through aligned holes defined in a heat sink and a printed circuit board thereby attaching the heat sink to an electronic component mounted on the printed circuit board.
However, before the clip and the heat sink are secured to the printed circuit board, the clip is separated from and not tied to the heat sink. In other words, the clip is not preassembled to the heat sink beforehand. Thus, it is difficult for the clip to be manipulated manually to align with the holes of the heat sink and the printed circuit board. Furthermore, having the clip and the heat sink in separate parts also increases the shipment cost when the clip and the heat sink are commercially marketed.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a heat sink clip which can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.